The Portland Trail Blazers are now 4-3 on the season after a disappointing 123-115 home loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. Portland entered this game as heavy favorites as Los Angeles was without their three best players, LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and Austin Reaves.
In some ways, it felt like a trap game as the Blazers started off the season on a strong note and were inevitably due for regression. Blazers fans have also seen this team play to their level of competition way too often the past few seasons. Still, these are absolutely the types of games Portland can't afford to lose if they have any desire to end a four-year playoff drought. The margin for error in the Western Conference is incredibly thin, and they need to capitalize when teams aren't at full strength, especially when playing at home and coming off two days' rest.
To be fair, the Blazers have also been plagued by injuries of their own. They were without Damian Lillard, Scoot Henderson, Blake Wesley, and Matisse Thybulle in this contest. Interim head coach Tiago Splitter still played a ten-man rotation, but the stints were too short. As a result, multiple players struggled to find their rhythm, particularly in the first half.
The Blazers' offense is overly reliant on an aging Jrue Holiday
One veteran that Portland relied heavily on to start the season, who came up short for the entirety of the game, was Jrue Holiday. He was a -9 in 36 minutes, recording just eight points, six assists, three rebounds, and two turnovers on 4-of-11 shooting from the field while missing all six of his three-point attempts.
Credit the Lakers as they had unexpected heroes step up to steal this game, including Rui Hachimura, Nick Smith Jr., and Deandre Ayton, who got his revenge in Portland after Donovan Clingan won the head-to-head matchup in Los Angeles.
Still, this was a game that Portland would've -- and should've won -- had Holiday played better. While we can't put the blame entirely on just one player, Holiday has been the engine that makes Portland's offense go early on in the season. He's taken on an increased playmaking role to fill the void until Scoot Henderson returns from his hamstring tear.
Unfortunately, the Celtics' version of Holiday showed up in this matchup. He looked slow on both ends of the court, struggling to consistently generate offense as his shot was failing him all night. More concerning than the shot was the fact that he couldn't create easy opportunities for teammates, with a few questionable decisions that came back to haunt Portland late in the fourth quarter.
Outside of Deni Avdija and Shaedon Sharpe (in spurts), offense was way too challenging to come by. Bad nights are inevitable in the NBA, even for 35-year-old veterans. Hopefully, Holiday is able to right the ship in Portland's next game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. But the defending champions have a historic defense, which could mean more trouble ahead for Holiday and the Blazers' offense.